Hearing aid device

ABSTRACT

A hearing aid device which comprises a venting tube adapter for connecting the sound tube from the hearing aid amplifier to the molded ear insert and at the same time venting the channel to the auditory canal of the ear to which the hearing aid is connected. The adapter is made of plastic and it is provided with a part that extends into a hole through the ear insert so that the channel through this hole and through the adapter is connected to both the sound tube from the hearing aid amplifier and to the auditory canal of the wearer&#39;&#39;s ear. In addition, the plastic adapter is provided with a venting hole that is controlled by a small adjustable screw which is threaded into the adapter and which is prevented from being accidentally removed therefrom by means of a plastic flange surrounding the shank of the screw and formed with the plastic of the adapter.

United States Patent [1 1 Milani HEARING AID DEVICE Humbert Milani, San Jose, Calif.

Assignees: Robert M. Sheeley; Larry M.

Sheeley, both of San J ose, Calif.

The portion of the term of this patent subsequent to Mar. 26, 1991, has been disclaimed.

Filed: Oct. 3, 1.973

Appl. No.: 403,198

Related U.S. Application Data Continuation-impart of Ser. No. 275.324. July 26. 1972. Pat. No. 3,800,101.

Inventor:

Notice:

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3/1974 Milani 179/107 E *Nov. 11, 1975 Primary E.\'aminerStephen J. Tomsky Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Gerald L. Moore; Ben J. Chromy 5 7 ABSTRACT A hearing aid device which comprises a venting tube adapter for connecting the sound tube from the hearing aid amplifier to the molded ear insert and at the same time venting the channel to the auditory canal of the ear to which the hearing aid is connected. The adapter is made of plastic and it is provided with a part that extends into a hole through the ear insert so that the channel through this hole and through the adapter is connected to both the sound tube from the hearing aid amplifier and to the auditory canal of the wearers ear. In addition, the plastic adapter is provided with a venting hole that is controlled by a small adjustable screw which is threaded into the adapter and which is prevented from being accidentally removed therefrom by means of a plastic flange surrounding the shank of the screw and formed with the plastic of the adapter.

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US. Patent ..Nov. 11, 1975 lOc Fi A

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HEARINGAII) DEVICE This application'is a continuation-in-part of my application Sern'No. 275,324 filed-July 26, 1972 and now US. Pat. No. 3,800,101-issued Mar. 26,1914 for I-Iearing Aid Device; -e

sCR PrioNoF THE INVENTION This invention relates to-a hearing aiddeyi ce and the method of making said device.

An object of this invention is'to providean improved hearing aid device that is used for attachingthe sound tube of the hearing aid amplifier to the molded ear inr is Anotherobject of thisin ventio n to provide an im 2 .proved method of manufacturinga plastic adapter for use in connecting the sound tube of the hearing aid amplifier to the plastic ear insert provided to the hearing aid.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a plastic adapter used for connecting the sound tube from the hearing aid amplifier to the molded ear insert, said adapter being constructed so that it may be economically and efficiently manufactured.

Still another object of this invention is to provide an improved adjustable venting and sound transmitting device that may be easily attached to hearing aid ear molds, said device being adapted to be economically manufactured by an improved method of manufacture.

A further object of this invention is to provide an adjustable venting and sound transmitting device attached to the hearing aid ear mold, said device being of small size and light weight and it also being constructed so that it may be adjusted by the wearer to control the venting and sound transmission of the sound channel through the ear mold.

Other and further objects of this invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which it relates from the following specification, claims and drawing.

In this invention I have provided a hearing aid device and method of manufacturing the same whereby the sound tube from the hearing aid amplifier and the venting valve are connected to the same hole through the plastic ear insert. Thus the channel leading into the auditory canal of the wearer's ear is vented by this device at the same time as some frequency control is provided thereto. Furthermore, the adapter of my invention is made of a sufficiently small size so that it can be fitted to all molded ear inserts without difficulty.

Heretofore various variable venting devices have been proposed and disclosed in different patents. However, so far as I am aware these various devices were either too bulky to use on conventional plastic ear molds or they were difficult to install in the ear mold, sometimes even requiring an additional hole through the ear mold to receive the venting device. These diffi culties have been overcome by my invention with the additional advantage that the cost thereof is kept low through an improved manufacturing process.

Further details and features of this invention will be set forth in the following specification, claims ahd drawing, in which, briefly:

FIG. 1 is a view of this device attached to the molded ear insert;

. FIG. 2. is a view of one member of the injection molding die in wh ich f the device of this invention is made;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of ,FIG. .2 showing the plastic adapter formed in the die; 1 FIG. 4 isa sectional view of the die taken along the line 4 4 ofFIG; 2; I g

FIG 5 is a sec tional view of the plastic adapter showing the metal screw positioned therein and also showing the. .addition..of.solvent around the shoulder of the screw..to 'form the plastic screw retaining flange; and

FIG. '6 is aside view of the metal screw provided to the device as shown in FIG. 5.

1 Referring to the drawing'in detail, 'refe'rencenumeral 1 0 desigr latjes a.\ enting tube adapter attached to the mold l lfwhich forms the ear insert of the hearing aid wearelr and which is provided with a hole 12 to which the adapter 16 'is attached. The ear insert 11 may be made of suitable plastic, such as acrylic resin or other soft or hard plastic as referred to in the plastic trade.

This ear insert is provided with a taperedportion 11a that fits into the outer end of the auditory channel of the ear of the carer and the hole 12 communicates with the we'arers auditory canal.

The adapter 10 is made of suitable thermoplastic material and it is formed in the injection molding die 13 which is made in two pieces, 13a and 13b, which are provided with a cavity having the outer shape of the adapter 10. The die parts 13a and 13b are provided with one or more holes such as the hole 14 through which molten plastic is injected into the cavity in the die to form the ear insert device 10. The die 13 is also provided with movable pistons 15 and 16 which are moved into the cavity in the die predetermined distances before the molten plastic is injected into the die cavity through holes 14. Thus, the piston 15 is moved into the die cavity so as to form the hole 17 through the adapter 10 and piston 16 is moved into the die cavity to contact the threaded insert 19 to form the hole 18. The insert 19 is provided with a shank 20 which is clamped between the die parts 13a and 13b.

After the molten plastic is injected into the die 13 through holes 14 and the adapter 10 is formed, pistons 15 and 16 are withdrawn from the plastic adapter and the die parts 13a and 13b are opened so that the plastic device 10 is released therefrom. The threaded member 19 is then withdrawn from the plastic device 10 by gripping the shank 20 and unscrewing it therefrom. The hole 18a is then drilled into the side of the adapter into the threaded hole.

After the plastic device 10 is removed from the die and the threaded member 19 is unscrewed therefrom the machine screw 21 is inserted into the threaded hole formed in the plastic device. The machine screw 21 is screwed into the plastic device until the shoulder 21a of the machine screw is aligned with the shoulder 10a of the plastic device as shown in the drawing. The plastic device 10 is then held in vertical position and the eye dropper 22 with a small quantity of plastic solvent is used to place a small quantity of the solvent into the cavity formed around the shank 21 of the machine screw. This solvent functions to dissolve some of the plastic of the plastic device 10 and form a flange around the shank 21 so that the machine screw can not be unscrewed from the plastic device without destroying this plastic flange. The machine screw then is used to control the opening of the hole 18a which was drilled into the plastic body into the threaded portion thereof. Thus, the machine screw 21 may be used for control- 3 ling the venting of the holes 17 and 18 through the plastic device and also the hole 12 leading into the auditory canal of the hearing aid wire.

The plastic device 10 is formed with the tubular portions 10b and 100. The tubular portion 10b is inserted stretched over these flanges. The flanges keep the tube 23 from slipping off of the tubular portion 10c during use of the device.

While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of the invention, it is apparent that the invention is capable of variation and modification'from the form shown so that the scope thereof should be limited only by the scope of the claims appended hereto.

What I claim is:

1. In a hearing aid apparatus, a venting adapter for connecting the round tube from a hearing'aid amplifier to an ear mold, comprising:

a first hollow tubular body member having a hole therethrough, said tubular member having one end adapted for attachment of the sound tube leading from a hearing aid and said tubular member having the hole at the other end threaded;

a second hollow tubular member having one end fixed to said first tubular member and having a hole therethrough communicating with the first tubular member hole and having the other end adapted for attachment to an ear mold such that sound transmitted from the sound tube of the hearing aid will pass through said tubular member holes to the ear mold and on to the ear auditory canal of the hearing aid wearer;

a vent opening in said first tubular member near the other end thereof and leading from the hole therein to the outside of the tubular member at a point external to the ear; and

a threaded screw member threaded into the threaded hole at the other end of the first tubular member auditory canal of the wearer. 

1. In a hearing aid apparatus, a venting adapter for connecting the round tube from a hearing aid amplifier to an ear mold, comprising: a first hollow tubular body member having a hole therethrough, said tubular member having one end adapted for attachment of the sound tube leading from a hearing aid and said tubular member having the hole at the other end threaded; a second hollow tubular member having one end fixed to said first tubular member and having a hole therethrough communicating with the first tubular member hole and having the other end adapted for attachment to an ear mold such that sound transmitted from the sound tube of the hearing aid will pass through said tubular member holes to the ear mold and on to the ear auditory canal of the hearing aid wearer; a vent opening in said first tubular member near the other end thereof and leading from the hole therein to the outside of the tubular member at a point external to the ear; and a threaded screw member threaded into the threaded hole at the other end of the first tubular member such that by turning the threaded screw member it will be caused to overlap and regulate the size of the vent opening for regulation of the volume of sound transmitted through the adapter to the ear auditory canal of the wearer. 